So now we wait until Ben Cherington does something a little more exciting than sign a bunch of minor leaguers. Not that Brandon Duckworth, Charlie Haeger, Will Inman, Doug Mathis, Tony Pena Jr., Chorye Spoone Jesse Carlson, Justin Thomas, Pedro Ciriaco and Nate Spears won’t possibly be useful in the near to distant future, a more pressing need for the Sox is a right fielder with a bat…and another back of the rotation starter, or two, as I am not thoroughly convinced (ok, I am not even 35% convinced) that Daniel Bard is going to be able to make the transition from reliever to starter…

From the “That Didn’t Take Long” department in Schenectady: Joe Torre resigned from his post as Executive VP of Baseball Operations for Major League Baseball, a job he held less than a year, to become part of the ownership group who are looking to buy the Dodgers from the beleaguered Frank McCourt…

And it appears that the Hot Stove Cool Music concert is remaining in Boston–at least for now. Benefitting Theo and twin brother Paul’s Charity, A Foundation To Be Named Later, the concert is in its 13th year, and will feature Cubs President Theo Epstein, the Man Who Should Be Commissioner, Peter Gammons, and such notable musicians and celebrities as Bill Janovitz, Kay Hanley, Robin Lane, Mike O’Malley and more. The Event will be held on January 14, 2012 at 7:00pm, at The Paradise Rock Club. Tickets are $40 for General, and $125 for VIP Tickets and are available at TBNL’s website…

Picked up some cool Sox Swag over the Holidays, one was a gift from my most excellent stepdaughter (even if she’s a Phillies fan): The 2012 Red Sox Trivia Calendar, which is jam packed of neat and interesting facts about the Sox. Monday’s Question: How Many Managers served during the Yawkey Era? Answer: 18…

Another piece of baseball swag I got was a gift to myself: The Baseball Tarot Deck and accompanying book. I have been reading cards for nearly 25 years, and have been collecting them, on and off, for almost that long. And when I came across this deck, how could I refuse?

Finally, Chris Jaffe from The Hardball Times sent along his annual predictions for the Hall of Fame Class of 2012. And not only does he make the predictions, he offers analysis in the form of exact percentages for each major candidate. As his insights are often spot on, Next Week’s Cooperstown Results Today is definitely worth the read…

You can also see how the Baseball Bloggers Alliance weighed in (why yes, I DID vote for Bill Mueller–Don’t judge me…) here…

Coming up: Arbitration Filing starts on Thursday, and runs until January 15th. Will Ben continue Theo’s tradition of not having to go to an arbitration hearing?

AND, we are nearing the 90 day point mark until Opening Day…Holy Buckets–the end is in sight!